Climbing. I know that this must being getting old by now, but it's become one of my passions within the last few weeks, so I like talking about it.
It is nice to say that I can finally climb worth anything now. I'm still not good, but I've been able to get several routes that have taunted me for the last week.
However.
I notice that while my body is under the strain of clinging on to a hold barely large enough to fit my fingertips while trying to yank myself from under an overhang to another hold of a similar size, I tend to swear. Usually the "d-word" or the "s-word." "Junk" is another one, but that's not necessarily a curse word. This bugs me for a few reasons.
1.) I can't stop doing it, and I think that the things which we do under stress reflect our hearts more than when we have everything under control.
2.) It makes pulling myself up to the next hold easier, thus reducing my incentive to quit saying these things.
All the while, I can't help but think: who decided which words were bad and why? How is mumbling "s--t" under my breath when my arms are screaming at me to let up worse than calling someone an idiot and genuinely meaning what I say? It's not hurting anyone, and it makes me feel better.
Theoretically, it may help to call on God in that moment, but at that point, my arms REALLY hurt, and my focus is on the next hold, rather than on genuinely asking for God's help. I suppose I'm not sure I can sincerely say a prayer in 1.6 seconds. Or whether God would actually strengthen my body just so I could have the satisfaction of finishing a route I've been trying for a week.
I feel myself trying to rationalize it, but that just isn't going to cut it. Because what happens if Brandon is guiding a raft down the Snake River this summer with ten (or however many) middle schoolers on his raft, things get tight negotiating a path down the river, and I let fly with one of my words? Not exactly the best spot to be in, especially because as a Christian I am called to be different than the world.
Still.
Who decided which words were bad? I was raised that way. I don't think most people question things like that. It's what, however many generations of not saying this word. That's how we're socialized.
I'm not trying to justify it (yes I am, I think to myself,) but it's a good question. Many words today, one of which is CRAP, used to be considered one of these words. It's not anymore. Unless you talk to older people who still think it is. But as a result, we just don;t say it when we're around them. I can;t remember if I've ever said "crap" around my Grammie Adent.
I say it around my Grandpa Douglass.
Because he says it himself.
About Me
- Brandon
- I work at a software company in Bellingham, love reading, writing, being outside, and studying the different cultures God has created to worship him. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
8 comments:
I fricken can't believe you! Repeating every word you hear your Grandpa saying and thinking you're justified! That's a great idea. That adds a few cool words to my vocabulary, too. Okay, I don't really have anything that is actually constructive to say. Maybe try harder to say those things fewer. And probably cut yourself some slack, too. (Not that it sounds like you need any, you terrible morals compromiser!)
Again, props to you for thinking through stuff. As long as you keep thinking and learning, you've got nothing to regret.
Verse!: 1 Corinthians 6:12
Don't be mastered by anything...
If you can't help but say it, the words own you.
Verse!: 1 Corinthians 8:9-13
Don't screw others up with your cursing...
If your "s-bomb" causes others to sin, you goofed. Some people only associate cursing with anger, I'm in this boat,and your cursing brings about those thoughts in my head. If I curse, it's because I let anger take over my mind. That's sin. I guess you have to figure out why you curse, and decide what drives it.
Simon's thoughts:
I think cursing is offensive and lame. I just think people could use a more rounded version of the English language, and maybe even use adjectives and exclamations that express their feelings instead of some standard-issue curse.
As far as leading a raft down the Salmon River, you better not be dropping bombs on those kids ears. They'll hear the words and hope that they can use them back at school to fit in. Then they will fit in, and then where's the different lifestyle that Christ asks them to live?
I avoid it in general for the anger thing and for the general idea that people have accepted cursing as "bad". I also like to broaden my vocabulary, so I find new words to use...
AND... I have no idea who decided that certain words are bad. However, I do know where to figure out which ones are bad. www.urbandictionary.com It's crazy how much bad stuff is out there.
@ Si-
1.) I had forgotten the "being mastered" verse. That's a good point.
2.) I need to, at the very least, find something different to say, even if not in anger. If avoiding anger is the goal, I should just quit living altogether, because I'm sure I'll encounter it again sometime within the next day or so. All I gotta do is look at the news....
3.) This brings up another question, possibly for another blog topic: Is anger, in itself, a sin? God feels it. Jesus exhibited it when he threw things around when the temple was being desecrated...
Uh...
Hmmm...
For me, anger would master me by leading me to make bad decisions. So it kinda connects to #1.
Anger in itself isn't bad. You're right on that. This would be a great topic to look further into. I'll look forward to that post. and I'll do more of my own thinking.
Sweet.
More thoughts:
One guy that I go to school with says "Pickles". It's funnier because he swears all the time, but when something really goes bad, he says pickles. I say you find a totally normal word and turn it into your own swear word. That way no one is offended by your swearing, and you still get to say something when you want to get that ever-so-elusive rock climbing hold.
I guess this brings something else into the situation, what's the deep dark feeling behind your swearing? Jesus always brought stuff back to "the heart". I think that's what is important here. What is your reason for swearing? What does it accomplish for you? (Only a rock climbing hold?) What does it do to you?
Gosh I wish I understood this topic more. I wish I had a definitive answer in my mind.
Verse!: Ephesians 4:29 (I'm sure you've thought about this one at some point.)
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
I take that to be more specifically toward saying things that could tear someone apart or build them up. However, I do think it applies here as well. "S#!@" doesn't usually build others up.
I avoid it all since there's any question about it at all. I like to avoid stuff like that.
This may slightly help in the technical sense to you question but realistically, it doesn't. at the essence, swear words are not neccessarily swear words anymore, but more vulgar terms. why are they vulger? because a society decides as a community by some aesthetic means what does and what doesn't sound "repulsive" or "vulgar". for instances, (and first off) talking about your bowel movements in a public place, let alone period, is quite unsophisticated. not to mention that when you say "s***", you sort spit when pronouncing the "sh" part, which also isn't very gentleman-like or lady-like. but, if you have no option but to talk about what comes out of your "@$$" (again, what reason does anyone have to talk about the seating area? it's a private matter in the technical sense), what sounds more "vulgar", poo or shit? in honesty, i'd rather hear poo, because it reminds me of a pastry covered in honey, which sounds delicious. that's for vulgar words, now for swear words. the only real swear i can think of that is still used and considered socially inappropriate is damn. now, when you "damn" someone, you are literally telling them you want them to receive the absolute worst punishment possible in the after life or near future from God. Now, A: that's not very nice B: who is anyone to bring judgement upon someone? God is the Judge, not anyone else. now, even if you aren't talking about to someone, you are damning some sort of activity. say you damn that hold you are going for, are you saying you'd rather it not be there? because, then you'd be in a REAL pickle! and even if you are saying it for "the hell of it" (that makes no sense grammatically or literally, and why grammatically or literarily abuse such a terrible place you don't want to go to? that's why that one gets weird treatment) why say the word at all? as The Simon said, there are so many words and phrases to exclaim! you can shout "Kelly Clarkson!" (borrowed courtesy of 20th Century Fox) that has plenty of harsh consonants and "ssss" sounds to pronounce! (which is usually what makes swear words so "fun to say") well, i hope you enjoyed my incredibly meticulous breakdown of the english language into a fun and informative way. and hopefully it didn't bug the snot out of anyone reading it.
Rabbit. I am SOO glad that you're my brother. Thank you for your thoughts. I laughed a lot, but I also totally understood your point.
Thanks for commenting.
Language really is a funny thing. And particularly so because it is so culturally defined. Certainly there is nothing sinful about any particular combination of sounds... yet in certain contexts (i.e., in English), some have been deemed inappropriate.
I don't swear in frustration often at all. (I will occasionally use strong language in conversation to make a point, but to me that's a separate issue.) What I do very often, though, is use frustration words like dang and crap and freak and all the other pseudonyms for swear words. And this is where my beliefs and my practice don't line up: I believe that most of the time, use of those fake frustration-expletives is morally just as bad as use of the real frustration-expletives -- it's a time where my mind is not in control of my mouth, and what comes out is a meaningless word spoken merely to voice my own mental state.
In these situations (often on the disc golf course) I'm really hardly any more in control of myself than if I was actually swearing... and that's not evidencing the self-control that God calls me to. I think the deeper issue isn't whether I say 'freak' or 'fuck' when my disc hits a tree -- the real issue is whether or not I allow something external like that to take my behavior out of my control, and whether *any* word I say in that situation will give grace to those around me.
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